


Scales and Fire

by The_Shy_One



Series: Anchor to Your Soul and Follow all the Way North, Back Home [1]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Dragon AU, Fluff, Gen, Magic, One Shot, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26402230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shy_One/pseuds/The_Shy_One
Summary: He finds her among the ice and snow of a barren planet.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), The Armorer (The Mandalorian TV) & Din Djarin
Series: Anchor to Your Soul and Follow all the Way North, Back Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923937
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93





	Scales and Fire

The entrance to the cave was spilling warmth, more than it should be on a planet filled with snow and ice. Din pulls his coat closer, the chill chasing after him despite the fire that burned in his stomach that kept him warm. The ad’ika peered around the fur lining the coat and hood, staring into the same entrance as he was, curious as to why the two of them were here. Then they ducked back into the warmth of the coat, snuggling closer to his body, feeling the same chill as Din of this planet. 

With nothing more than the fob that she had given right before Gideon’s attack, Din would have to trust that this was where his leader had chosen to lay low. He walks into the cave, watching everything that might potentially crush him or hide unknown creatures that also lurked here. There was one singular path that leads deeper into the side of the mountain, with no deviations that suggested that this was a cave that was formed naturally. 

The warmth that was desperately crawling towards him at the entrance was now surrounding him, forcing him to unzip the coat to escape quick heatstroke and sweat. The kid still clung to him, nestled into the birikad that Din had fastened when they insisted that they come with him. However, they stared at the glittering ice with wonder, black eyes wide as they continued to follow the path.

It was a small path only a foot taller than Din in height and wide enough that he could hold his arms out and barely touch either side with his fingers. It was only meant for humanoids like Din to get through. Anything bigger and they would practically be forcing themselves through only to become stuck. A smart precaution on the Armorer’s part, a way to keep safe and warn her of intruders.

Soon the path leads to an opening with a creature laying in the middle, curled up on a bunch of furs. There was no fires, only heat that escaped her mouth as she continued to sleep. The light from Din’s helmet bounced off of golden scales, a sign that it was his leader.

He only gets a step into the opening before the child shrieks, excited by the sight of the creature in front of them. Whether they knew it was the Armorer through the mysterious Force or was excited by seeing such a large creature, Din didn’t know since it caused her to shift her body, her head moving to see who had dared to come into her domain. She wore not helmet - there wasn’t enough beskar or durasteel to make a helmet that big that would fit properly - but there was a veil that was attached to her horns and flowed down to cover her face, keeping out any light that would catch on her glittering scales or her supposed glowing eyes.

Din stood still as she moved her neck to bring her face close to him. The heat that rolled out of her mouth was all-encompassing, surrounding him that it made Din’s human body start to sweat a lot. If he were in his other form, he would be fine, in fact, he would revel in the heat and warmth since a fire burned brightly in his stomach. The kid babbles at her - unaffected by the heat - waving their hands as if wanting to grab at her veil to play with.

“You have found me.” She said simply, calmly. Her voice echoed through, louder, but still regal as ever. “Have you found any of the others Din’ika?”

He didn’t react to the nickname much, only relaxed a bit. “I’ve only found Paz. He’s still hiding out but would be willing to join us if he saw you once more. He insisted on that point.”

A low sound rumbled, something close to a chuckle. “Stubborn, filled with the dreams of the past.” She said cryptically. It made sense somehow, but actually trying to decipher it as Din sweated out his body weight wasn’t a smart choice currently. “We shall have him back if we want to carve out more of the mountain here. It’s been very quiet.”

“It appears to be a good hiding place even with the less than favourable weather conditions.”

“That won’t be an issue once more join, Din’ika. Warmth will spill once more from the Covert, we will able to be free for a little while.”

Din nodded, agreeing with her. “Paz said that he knew where some others were, he just needed proof that I’d found you.”

“I shall join you then. We must build anew, gain some peace before it slips away again.” She says, voice warm and filled with the confidence of the leader that she is. It made the fire that burned in Din’s stomach grow more, excited to see that the Covert would become one once more.

He pats the child’s head, listening to the soft sounds of babbling as a result. He wonders if he can teach the little one how to shift once they reached the age to take on the ritual of change. Nobody was born with the form of becoming a dragon, they had to dedicate themselves to earning the right to shift and then finding the form that best suited them. 

Din’s buir, the one who had adopted him into the Covert, had been able to cool a room down, ice and snow falling from her lips when she needed it. Din, the opposite had gained warmth and fire when he had done his trial. What ability would the little one gain if they decided to go through with the trail? Would he even get a chance to see?

He stares down into their black eyes, seeing them start to doze off in the extreme heat. He shifts the birikad off along with the rest of his armour so that the child was sitting on the ground as Din began to change shape. He heard the Armorer moving around, grabbing a veil for Din to wear once he had completed the transformation. Bones popped, muscles grew and stretched as the size of the room shrank as Din grew bigger. 

Finally, he settled into his form, heat pouring out of his mouth, joining the Armorer’s. He was comfortable in the icy cave, surrounded by the heat that seemed etched into every part of his skin in this form. 

There was a veil near where he was, the Armorer’s back turned to him. He reached with his claws, placing it on the small crest that had formed on his head. It settled nicely, fitting him better than he expected. Then carefully, he moved his claws to pick up his kid, separating them from the birikad. They cooed as this happened, tiredly excited as their father put them on his back.

He couldn’t feel much through his scales there, harden as a way to protect his body from blasters and other creatures. But he craned his head so he could watch them settled down by one of the spikes that came from in-between his shoulder blades. They were so small, so much smaller when he was in this form. Din doubts they would even be able to move him as they had done with the mudhorn all those months ago.

And yet, they were bigger, bigger than him. There was something about them that made Din feel as if they were going to be something big, be part of something big. He moves to settle down, curling around his body so that his head was to his kid. Then he closed his eyes, surrounded by heat and company, at peace at last.

**Author's Note:**

> Ad'ika - Little One  
> Birikad - baby carrying harness  
> Din'ika - nickname, Little Din
> 
> Got this idea randomly in the middle of the night and was encouraged to write when I told people I had this idea lol. It was fun, would be cool to do more with it. Also, Din and Baby Yoda cuddling together at the end is just 100% indulgent fluff and I won't be ashamed to admit that :D
> 
> Anyway, hopefully, it was a fun one-shot to read! :D


End file.
